The Only One Who Mattered
by only-some-loser
Summary: Mac's self-sacrificing tendencies are starting to concern Jack. (tag to 1x09, Chisel)


**AN: This is the ninth installment in my personal challenge to write a tag for every episode. This is a tag for 1x09, Chisel. I'm not really impressed with this one, but there was really only one scene that stuck out to me that I wanted to write about, and I just wasn't really sure how. To all of my guest reviewers, you guys are amazing, and I appreciate every single one of your reviews. To the specific guest reviewer who asked on my tag to Can Opener for even longer and more in detail tag, I have decided that yes, I will do it, and it will be the darkest thing I have ever written. It will be added onto my tag Jailhouse Blues as another chapter, and there will be a plethora of warnings in the AN. However, I'm not sure when I'm going to write it. I want to focus on my tags for each episode, but I will begin doing my research and making sure I write such a heavy topic in the most tactful way possible. For the moment, it will be a side project. I hope you enjoy, and please review!**

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The moment that grenade flew through the window, everything changed for Jack. Of course, he was always more concerned about Mac's safety than anyone else's, but it made him realize just how close he had been to losing the kid. Mac was absolutely fearless when he picked up that grenade and launched it right back through the window, exploding only seconds after it left Mac's hand, but he was terrified after the explosion. Jack could see the terror in his eyes as he took in a few heavy breaths, turning around and running his hands through his hair. As grateful as Jack was that he didn't, he was surprised that the kid didn't try to pull a Captain America and just jump right onto the explosive to absorb the blast. Mac wasn't known for his self-sacrificing tendencies for nothing.

Jack made eye contact with the kid after the explosion, and saw him slowly nod, his whole body slightly shaking with fear. The gunfire came soon after, and Jack didn't hesitate to launch himself onto the kid, keeping them both low to the ground as the bullets hailed above them. The two breathed heavily as Jack slowly released Mac from his grasp once the gunfire stopped, Jack taking a quick survey of Mac's body to make sure the kid hadn't gotten hit.

Jack knew Mac was only putting up a brave front the rest of the siege, he could see the cracks. But Jack supposed that's what made Mac truly brave. It wasn't that he wasn't scared - because he could tell the kid really was terrified - but that he could persevere so well despite the fear, and continually put others and their needs above his own. That was just who the kid was, and to Jack, that made him the most courageous person he knew. Mac kept his cool in front of Riley and the civilians, but in front of Jack, he let just a little bit of that fear show - or maybe it was just that Jack could see that fear he was trying to hide. The two weren't kidding when they said it was getting to Cairo levels of bad.

Jack knew that his partner was already blaming himself for the possibility that all of the civilians and marines at the embassy could be killed, and that was not okay with him. It wasn't Mac's fault that the local police had abandoned them and they couldn't get American reinforcements in a good time. It wasn't Mac's fault that the terrorists would do anything to kill their possible traitor. None of this was his fault, but of course, the kid would never see it that way.

The faulty bomb was the last straw. With how the day had been going, Jack should have guessed that the trigger would fail too. When Mac urged Jack to leave, to get clear of the bomb, it was all Jack could do to keep from laughing in the kid's face. If there was a possibility that Mac could get hurt trying to set the bomb off, then Jack was going to make sure he was there to take as much of the blow as he could, to protect his partner as much as he could. As it was, he did try to grab Mac and push the kid in front of him, just to do anything he could to try to keep the explosion from hurting him.

They got lucky, and were only left with bruises. As terrible as the mission went, they actually got very lucky in the end. No one was dead, and no one had been injured beyond some cuts, scrapes, or bruises. But that didn't mean it wasn't time for Jack to have a serious conversation with his partner about those self-sacrificing tendencies of his, once they were finally on a jet back to the good old US of A.

"Hey, Mac," Jack said, getting his partner's attention as he slowly lowered himself onto the couch opposite from where the blond was sitting.

Mac looked up at Jack and offered him a tired smile. It had been a long day to say the least.

"I am so, so proud of you, but I never want you to try to pull a stunt like that ever again," Jack said, deadly serious. Mac looked at him, clearly confused as to what Jack was talking about.

"You're gonna have to start from the beginning on this one," he replied, keeping his tone light, but a bit wary.

"The grenade you snatched up and launched back."

Mac's eyes widened for a moment in remembrance of that terrifying moment before he broke eye contact with his partner, fiddling with a paper clip in his hands.

"You could have been killed, bud. Do you realize that?"

"Of course I do, Jack!" Mac snapped, his gaze darting back to the man, a fire in his eyes. "We could be killed every day on this job, but we do it anyway, we do what we have to to try to save people. What did you expect me to do, let that grenade kill everyone in the room?"

"No, Mac, that's not what I'm saying," Jack replied, his voice once again calm and placating. "I'm just saying that you never think about yourself in these situations, and that worries me. It's my job to protect you, which means that it should have been me picking up that grenade, not you. It terrifies me that you are always so willing to get yourself killed to help people, because what if I can't save you in time? What if I can't pull you back from an explosion, or stop the psycho with a gun to your head, or any of a million different scenarios we've been through. You do these things and you don't seem to even think about it," he finished, his voice non-confrontational.

"What do you want me to say, Jack?" Mac asked, his voice much quieter. "That I was scared? That I was terrified? Well yeah. I was. After I threw that grenade back through the window, I was _s_ _haking_ I was so scared. But you were there, so I knew it was going to end up okay, even if that grenade exploded earlier and blew us all up." Mac stopped abruptly and stood, running his hands through his hair as he began to pace. "Jack, you _always_ protect me, so I knew that if I picked up that grenade and threw it back, it would be okay because you were there. Is that what you wanted to hear?" he finished, glaring at Jack.

Deep down, Jack already knew all of this, he really did, but to hear Mac say it was something else. He hadn't meant to make the kid feel like he was being pushed to open up emotionally when he didn't want to, but Jack supposed the stress and exhaustion of the day were more to blame for that.

"Son, all I wanted to hear was that you really do consider your own safety and well-being every now and then. I know we're both gonna put others first due to the nature of the job, but that doesn't mean that you have to take unnecessary risks, especially when I'm there to take those risks."

Mac dropped his glare and sat back down, his exhaustion evident in his heavy sigh.

"I do, Jack, but like I said, I knew you were there." He gave Jack a small smile as he finished, then relaxed back into the couch.

Jack watched the blond as he fell asleep. He knew he couldn't always protect Mac, but he would be lying if he said that the kid's hero worship didn't flatter him. He certainly didn't deserve it, but somehow, Mac had gotten it in his mind that even if he literally died, it would still be okay as long as Jack were there. The man sighed. He supposed that was a conversation for another time.


End file.
